Application of a virtual scientific experiment model in different educational contexts

E-learning practice is continuously using experimentation in order to enhance the basic information transfer model where knowledge is passed from the system/ tutors to the students. Boosting student productivity through on-line experimentation is not simple since many organizational, educational and technological issues need to be dealt with. This work describes the application of a Learning Model for Virtual Scientific Experiments (VSEs) in two different scenarios: Information and Communication Technologies and Physics. As part of the first, a VSE for Wireless Sensor Networks was specified and deployed while the second involved the specification and design of a collaborative VSE for physics experiments. Preliminary implementation and deployment results are also discussed

Koncepty zdraví (zdrowie) i nemoc (choroba) w czeskiej frazeologii

In this study, we aim to describe how the cultural concepts of zdraví (health) and its antithesis nemoc (illness) are conceptualised in Czech phraseology. We focus on the opposition between health and illness, which is one of the constitutive semantic oppositions of traditional Czech linguistic worldview. From the theoretical and methodological perspective, this paper is partly couched within the framework of modern ethnolinguistics and the concept of the linguistic worldview, and partly within cognitive linguistics, especially with regard to the theory of conceptual metaphor. It appears that in Czech linguistic worldview, health is one of the most significant existential values. Its significance becomes apparent mainly against the backdrop of illness, which is located at the antipole of health as its anti-value. The notions of health and illness appear in the human cognitive system as opposites, representing contradicting values. In Czech linguistic worldview, the opposition of health and illness is significantly tied with other semantic oppositions, especially life and death, young and old, beauty and ugliness, movement and immobility, strong and weak, whole and incomplete, colourful and colourless, etc. Health is always conceptualised via its preferred attributes (physical strength, resilience, wholeness, movement, youth, beauty, colourfulness), while illness is viewed through opposite attributes (physical weakness, old age, immobility, incompleteness, unattractiveness, dullness, death). In Czech idioms, a healthy person is compared to resilient products of nature (mighty trees with hard, durable wood, good roots and cores, as well as strong, agile, quick-moving animals, beautiful unimpaired crops, red flowers, etc.).Artykuł dotyczy konceptów zdraví (zdrowie) i (jako jego antytezy) nemoc (choroba) w czeskiej frazeologii. Autorki skupiają się na opozycji między zdrowiem i chorobą, czyli na jednej z głównych opozycji semantycznych w czeskim językowym obrazie świata. Pod względem teoretycznym i metodologicznym artykuł częściowo mieści się w ramach współczesnej etnolingwistyki (koncepcji językowego obrazu świata), a częściowo lingwistyki kognitywnej, szczególnie teorii metafory pojęciowej. W czeskim językowym obrazie świata zdrowie to jedna z najważniejszych wartości egzystencjalnych – jej wagę widać głównie na tle choroby, będącej jej antytezą. Pojęcia zdrowia i choroby to przeciwstawne wartości w kognitywnym systemie człowieka. W czeskim językowym obrazie świata opozycja zdrowie – choroba łączy się z innymi opozycjami semantycznymi, szczególnie życie – śmierć, młody – stary, piękno – brzydota, ruch – bezruch, silny – słaby, pełny – niepełny, kolorowy – bez koloru itd. Zdrowie jest zawsze konceptualizowane przez odwołania do jego typowych atrybutów (takich jak siła fizyczna, zdolność powrotu do równowagi, kompletność, ruch, młodosć, pełnia kolorów), podczas gdy chorobę postrzega się przez pryzmat atrybutów przeciwnych (fizyczna słabość, starość, bezruch, niepełność, nieatrakcyjność, brzydota, śmierć). W czeskich idiomach zdrową osobę porównuje się do odpornych organizmów, takich jak potężne, twarde drzewa o mocnych korzeniach i pniach; silne, zwinne, szybkie zwierzęta; piękne plony; czerwone kwiaty itd

The Woman in the Czech Traditional Worldview The Ethnolinguistic Study

Disertační práce se zabývá zkoumáním tradičního jazykového obrazu ženy v češtině. Teoreticky a metodologicky vychází především z moderní polské etnolingvistiky, tedy disciplíny zaměřené na studium jazyka ve vztahu ke kultuře, která pracuje s pojmem jazykový obraz světa, specificky poukazujícím ke způsobům, jak se do jazyka vepsaly zkušenosti a hodnoty dané společnosti. Cílem práce bylo rekonstruovat obraz (stereotyp) ženy v češtině, tj. odhalit strukturu stereotypových charakteristik se ženou v jazyce a kultuře spojovaných; šlo přitom především o obraz tradiční, utvářený po staletí ještě před dramatickými proměnami společnosti (i role ženy) v moderní době. Analýza dokladů z české slovní zásoby (včetně frazeologie) a textů lidových písní, drobných folklorních žánrů i klasické české literatury vedla k odhalení a charakteristice čtyř specifických poloh jazykového obrazu ženy, vydělených z hlediska tří aspektů (profilů) - věku, vzhledu a společenské role: mladá dívka (panna), manželka, matka a stará žena. Každá z nich nese jak rysy společné pro stereotyp ženy v jeho obecnosti, tak i rysy specifické. V souladu s některými českými pracemi z oblasti kulturní historie, etnologie a sociologie je v práci poukázáno jednak na významnou úlohu ženského těla (ve vztahu k sexualitě a plodnosti), jednak na vzájemné...The dissertation aims at the analysis of the traditional linguistic worldview of the woman in Czech. Theoretically and methodologically, the dissertation follows from the modern Polish ethnolinguistics, i.e. a discipline focusing on the studies of language in relation to culture, which uses the term of "linguistic worldview", referring specifically to the ways in which the values and experience of the particular society have been written into its language. The aim of the dissertation is to reconstruct the image (the stereotype) of the woman in Czech, i.e. to reveal the structure of stereotypical characteristics related to the woman in the language and the culture. The attention was paid primarily to the traditional image, built in the centuries before the dramatic changes of the society and the women's role in modern times. The analysis of the Czech vocabulary (including phraseology) and of the traditional songs lyrics, minor folklore genres as well as classical Czech literature has led to the reveal and subsequent characterization of four specific modes of the linguistic worldview of the woman, divided according to the three aspects (profiles) - the age, the appearance and the social role - as the young girl (maiden), the wife, the mother and the old woman. Each of them involves the general as...Institut of Deaf StudiesÚstav jazyků a komunikace neslyšícíchFilozofická fakultaFaculty of Art

Jasňa Pacovská, Iva Nebeská, Alex Röhrich, Irena Vaňková: Škola jako místo radosti z přemýšlení o jazyce. Pedagogický pohled na kognitivní a kulturní aspekty jazyka

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Strategic ambiguity and risk in alternating pie-sharing experiments

We experimentally study a class of pie-sharing games with alternating roles from a decision-making perspective. For this, we consider a variant of a two-stage alternating-offer game which introduces an imbalance in the protagonists’ bargaining powers. This game class enables us to investigate how exposure to risk and strategic ambiguity affects one’s bargaining behaviour. Two structural econometric models of behaviour, a naïve and a sophisticated one, capture remarkably well the observed deviations from the game-theoretic benchmark. Our findings indicate, in particular, that a higher exposure to strategic ambiguity leads to a behaviour that is less responsive to the game’s parameters and to distorted, yet consistent, beliefs about other’s behaviour. We also find evidence of a backward-reasoning whereby first-stage decisions relate to the second-stage ones but which do not call for the counterfactual reasoning that characterises rationality in such settings

Exploring the emotional dimension of visitors' satisfaction at cultural events

Cultural events have emerged as a destination instrument for sharing local folk culture with visitors, aspiring to provide them with satisfying experiences at the same time as conveying socio-economic benefits to the local communities. However, studies of the visitor satisfaction process as a measure of the success of staging a cultural event remain noticeably lacking. Adopting an ethnographic approach, this article investigates visitor satisfaction by considering the emotional dynamics involved- a psychological dimension that remains largely overlooked within the tourism context. Fieldwork findings reveal the important role of senses in this process and pinpoint precise emotions that impact on (dis)satisfaction and intentions. Based on the research outcomes, the article then proposes a model conceptualising this process that is of relevance beyond the specific context of events. The study envisages a tighter link between the fields of tourism and psychology, given the potentially rewarding outcomes this might yield

Visiting the “enemy”: visitation in politically unstable destinations

Purpose This study aims to examine the factors shaping the intentions of people to visit a hostile outgroup. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory, qualitative research approach was followed. Specifically, 77 semi-structured interviews with citizens of the divided island of Cyprus were conducted. Findings This study identifies several categories of visitors and non-visitors, depicted along a continuum, and concludes that there is a multiplicity of factors in the socio-political environment which influence the travel intentions of people. Originality/value This study not only imparts insights into the way travel decision-making evolves in politically unstable situations but also serves as a stepping stone towards understanding the conditions under which reconciliation between hostile nations may be encouraged by travel

Preparation and uses of chlorinated glycerol derivatives

Crude glycerol (C3H8O3) is a major by-product of biodiesel production from vegetable oils and animal fats. The increased biodiesel production in the last two decades has forced glycerol production up and prices down. However, crude glycerol from biodiesel production is not of adequate purity for industrial uses, including food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The purification process of crude glycerol to reach the quality standards required by industry is expensive and dificult. Novel uses for crude glycerol can reduce the price of biodiesel and make it an economical alternative to diesel. Moreover, novel uses may improve environmental impact, since crude glycerol disposal is expensive and dificult. Glycerol is a versatile molecule with many potential applications in fermentation processes and synthetic chemistry. It serves as a glucose substitute in microbial growth media and as a precursor in the synthesis of a number of commercial intermediates or fine chemicals. Chlorinated derivatives of glycerol are an important class of such chemicals. The main focus of this review is the conversion of glycerol to chlorinated derivatives, such as epichlorohydrin and chlorohydrins, and their further use in the synthesis of additional downstream products. Downstream products include non-cyclic compounds with allyl, nitrile, azide and other functional groups, as well as oxazolidinones and triazoles, which are cyclic compounds derived from ephichlorohydrin and chlorohydrins. The polymers and ionic liquids, which use glycerol as an initial building block, are highlighted, as well.This work was partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España (grants: MINECO/FEDER CTQ2015-70982-C3-1-R) and by the Generalitat de Catalunya, Grant 2017 SGR 828, to the Agricultural Biotechnology and Bioeconomy Unit (ABBU)

A review of ultrasound-mediated checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy

Over the past decade, immunotherapy has emerged as a major modality in cancer medicine. However, despite its unprecedented success, immunotherapy currently benefits only a subgroup of patients, may induce responses of limited duration and is associated with potentially treatment-limiting side effects. In addition, responses to immunotherapeutics are sometimes diminished by the emergence of a complex array of resistance mechanisms. The efficacy of immunotherapy depends on dynamic interactions between tumour cells and the immune landscape in the tumour microenvironment. Ultrasound, especially in conjunction with cavitation-promoting agents such as microbubbles, can assist in the uptake and/or local release of immunotherapeutic agents at specific target sites, thereby increasing treatment efficacy and reducing systemic toxicity. There is also increasing evidence that ultrasound and/or cavitation may themselves directly stimulate a beneficial immune response. In this review, we summarize the latest developments in the use of ultrasound and cavitation agents to promote checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy

Instantons and Fixed Point Actions in SU(2) Gauge Theory

We describe the properties of instantons in lattice gauge theory when the action is a fixed point action of some renormalization group transformation. We present a theoretically consistent method for measuring topological charge using an inverse renormalization group transformation. We show that, using a fixed point action, the action of smooth configurations with non-zero topological charge is greater than or equal to its continuum value $8\pi^2/g^2$.Comment: uufiles plain latex mss, epsf figures appended as .eps file